“We need to tell Louisa and Harold. How will they explain to Arthur, who will only be four in August, that soon he will never seeGran-papaagain? And Tisha is not even one yet; she will never know you,” Leticia wailed.
“It is not certain, Lettie, I may yet live for some months or years.” Hurst knew it was not likely even as the words crossed his lips.
Seeing her beloved’s greying pallor along with the almost constant rubbing of his chest, Leticia did not believe what he had said but did not contradict him. If that is what Ignatius needed to say to keep his sanity, then she would not gainsay him. “Who will replace you at Somerset House?” she enquired. “Surely not Harold?”
“No, not our son. He is not familiar with the day-to-day running of the organisation. What he does for us, on a limited basis, is all done in society. I did tell you that he was instrumental in us being able to apprehend the ring of French spies Gardiner pointed us toward, did I not? It still amazes me what men will talk about when they think the man near them is foxed and asleep. That combined with our son’s ability to draw the face of the men he observes, is invaluable,” Hurst related proudly. “However, we believe there is a mastermind, one who none of those arrested were willing to inform on.”
“I was present when you thanked our son for his help with that matter,” Leticia recalled. “What has this to do with my question?”
“The one who planned the operation, came up with all the tactics which were employed, and oversaw the eventual complete success was none other than Captain Fitzwilliam,” Hurst revealed. “That man sees strategy like little Lizzy sees a chess board. He can account for all possible contingencies. He is the man I am training to replace me. He has accepted that he will need to resign from the army. Fitzwilliam did not object when I told him. He knows that he was only in the army on paper.”
“Based on what I know of Richard Fitzwilliam, I could not think of another who is better suited to succeed you. Does this have royal approval?”
“It does. Both the King and the Prince of Wales approved.” Hurst paused. “Again, I must express my contrition that the royals knew before you. Rather than a vain attempt to protect you, I should have told you even before I went to see the doctors. Once I had seen Mr Saunders and accepted what the probable end would be, I had to seek their approval to begin training Fitzwilliam. As hard as it was, he has kept the knowledge from Harold.”
“Ignatius, we should not delay in informing Louisa and Harold. We should tell them all, even before we break our fasts.”
“Please, Lettie, let us enjoy one more meal without this hanging over us. I swear on my love for you that we will speak to them as soon as we have completed eating. I have an inkling that Harold suspects something is not right with me. He is too observant to have missed it.” He cogitated for a moment. “After my recent admissions to you, this may not be the best time to ask something of you, but I find I must.” Hurst saw his wife nod. “I want you to promise that after you have mourned me for a year, you will engage with life again. You will still have Louisa, Harold, Arthur, and Tisha, and if God shines His Grace on them, perhaps more grandchildren. Do not forget that you have promised to bring the Bennet girls out, and I believe that Fanny agreed to be presented with Lizzy. There is much to love. I am too selfish to ask that you marry again; however, if you ever find a man you want to join your life with, know you will have my blessing.”
“The only thing I will vow now is that after you go to your final reward, I will not allow myself to waste away in order to join you as soon as may be. I love you with my whole heart and if…when you are taken, there will be a large part of my heart rendered from my chest, but my love for our son, daughter, andgrandchildren will give me the purpose I need. Yes, as long as I am able, I will honour my promises to the Bennets.”
“I cannot ask for more now,” Hurst acknowledged and then kissed his wife’s still damp cheeks.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Louisa and Harold could tell there was a certain level of tension in the air as the two Hurst couples broke their fasts. There was no missing the way Mother was pushing her food around, and Father was barely eating anything.
It did not take Hurst long to stop the pretence of eating. “I should have known you would be right about this, Lettie. We needed to speak before the meal.”
“Father, Mother, what do you need to tell us?” Harold demanded.
Leticia gave her husband a look that told him to begin. She tried but failed to hide the ‘I told you so’look.
“For some months now, I have been keeping something from you…” Hurst told his shocked son and daughter everything, up to and including who was being trained to replace him if and when that became necessary. “Before you berate Fitzwilliam, he was sworn to secrecy as soon as I shared everything with him after gaining royal sanction to train him.”
Although Harold wanted to vent his anger at his friend for not telling him, he knew that he was trying to find an external target for his sorrow and anger that he may lose his father much sooner than he had hoped. Never would have been better, but Harold was well aware that it was a very unrealistic dream. He looked at Louisa who had tears in her eyes. He realised his feelings were rather selfish. Father had been the only one Louisahad since her own father passed so tragically, and here he was, only thinking of his own pain. He pushed his chair back and then knelt next to his wife and pulled her into a comforting hug.
“Is there nothing to be done?” Louisa queried.
“According to Mr Saunders, who is the foremost expert on heart ailments in London, as things stand today, there is nothing more that can be done other than what we are doing,” Hurst replied. He looked at his son. “You know that Fitzwilliam was barred from telling you, do you not? I will make the same apology to you two that I made to your mother. I should have told you as soon as I knew what this was. For as much remaining time as I am in the mortal world, I will regret that error.”
“Of course, we forgive you, Father,” Louisa replied for both of them. “Will we remain in London for now?”
“Yes. I need to be close to Doctor Saunders at Guy’s Hospital. Also, I must give Fitzwilliam as much time as possible so he will be prepared to take over my job the day God takes me,” Hurst responded.
“Fitzwilliam is the best man for the job,” Harold agreed. “When will he resign from the army and sell his commission?”
“He is meeting with General Atherton today,” Hurst revealed.
“I am sure Lady Matlock will be well pleased that her younger son being sent to fight on the peninsula is no longer even a remote possibility,” Louisa stated.
“All of his family will feel the same,” Harold opined.
After the revelation, no one felt very much like eating, so to bolster their spirits, they all headed for the nursery to visit Arthur and Tisha.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“Richard, how is it you are not in uniform in the middle of the day?” Anne de Bourgh asked when her cousin entered the drawing room at Matlock House. She immediately blushed as she realised that no one had greeted Richard yet.
